TV Time Machine

Television (TV) has been in people’s homes since the 1930s, but our way of watching TV has changed significantly over the years. In the 1950s, families that had TVs, only had one TV set and three channels to choose from. Nowadays, we can watch a TV show on many different devices, anywhere and at any time of the day or night. Consequently, our generation is watching TV more frequently than any other generation before.

TVs were luxury items in the 1950s, and the families that did have one had to sit very close to it as the screens were very small. Then in the 1960s, TVs became cheaper and more families owned one. Most people had a TV in their living room and families sat together and watched their favourite shows. Oh, and there was no ‘Watch next episode’ button. People had to wait patiently for a week to watch the next part of their favourite soap opera.

Then, in the mid-2000s, TV broadcasters started to make programmes available via the internet. It was called on-demand TV and became very popular because people could choose when they wanted to watch a programme. Now, you could watch an episode of a sitcom straight away. Instead of watching one episode, people happily binge-watched six hours of their favourite TV series in one afternoon. Drama series became like one long film. And if you missed a documentary or an episode of your favourite reality show, you could easily watch it online later. During this decade, far fewer people sat down with their families to watch a TV show. However, people still preferred to watch major sports events (such as the FIFA World Cup) live.

In the 2010s, children and young adults began to watch much less broadcast TV than in the past. They watched their entertainment on smartphones, games consoles and via streaming services. This meant they could watch a show more easily at any time. Now, people spend more hours watching TV. In fact, the average person in Britain spends almost ten years of their life watching TV! As well as watching a show, they also need to read all the posts about it quickly, and tweet about it, too. This adds up to a lot more screen time.

Television (TV) has been in people’s homes since the 1930s, but our way of watching TV has changed significantly over the years. In the 1950s, families that had TVs, only had one TV set and three channels to choose from. Nowadays, we can watch a TV show on many different devices, anywhere and at any time of the day or night. Consequently, our generation is watching TV more frequently than any other generation before.

TVs were luxury items in the 1950s, and the families that did have one had to sit very close to it as the screens were very small. Then in the 1960s, TVs became cheaper and more families owned one. Most people had a TV in their living room and families sat together and watched their favourite shows. Oh, and there was no ‘Watch next episode’ button. People had to wait patiently for a week to watch the next part of their favourite soap opera.

Then, in the mid-2000s, TV broadcasters started to make programmes available via the internet. It was called on-demand TV and became very popular because people could choose when they wanted to watch a programme. Now, you could watch an episode of a sitcom straight away. Instead of watching one episode, people happily binge-watched six hours of their favourite TV series in one afternoon. Drama series became like one long film. And if you missed a documentary or an episode of your favourite reality show, you could easily watch it online later. During this decade, far fewer people sat down with their families to watch a TV show. However, people still preferred to watch major sports events (such as the FIFA World Cup) live.

In the 2010s, children and young adults began to watch much less broadcast TV than in the past. They watched their entertainment on smartphones, games consoles and via streaming services. This meant they could watch a show more easily at any time. Now, people spend more hours watching TV. In fact, the average person in Britain spends almost ten years of their life watching TV! As well as watching a show, they also need to read all the posts about it quickly, and tweet about it, too. This adds up to a lot more screen time.